Reference: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 453
Can Tahajjud prayer be performed in congregation or not?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
Tahajjud prayer may be performed in congregation, and there is no prohibition or disapproval in this. There are several authentic Ahadith proving this matter.
Narration of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
He said:
“I spent a night at the house of Maymūnah (رضي الله عنها), while the Prophet ﷺ was there, to observe how he prayed at night. The Prophet ﷺ talked with his wife for a while and then went to sleep. When the last third of the night came, he awoke, looked towards the sky, and recited the verse:
﴿إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ … لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ﴾
[Āl ʿImrān: 190]
Then he performed ablution, used the miswāk, and prayed eleven rakʿahs. I also made ablution and stood on his left side. The Prophet ﷺ took hold of my ear and placed me on his right side. Thus, he performed thirteen rakʿahs of night prayer.”
(Mirʿāt al-Mafātīḥ Sharḥ Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, Vol. 2, p. 162)
“It is authentically proven that Tahajjud was performed in congregation through the narrations of Ibn ʿAbbās and Anas (رضي الله عنهما).”
(Nayl al-Awṭār, Vol. 2, p. 89)
He said:
“The Hadith of Anas (رضي الله عنه) is narrated in various wordings in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, among them: Anas said, ‘I and an orphan prayed behind the Prophet ﷺ in our house, while my mother, Umm Sulaym (رضي الله عنها), stood behind us.’
These narrations cited by the author clearly establish the permissibility of offering voluntary prayers in congregation. The opponents of this practice have no valid evidence to counter these narrations.”
(Nayl al-Awṭār, Vol. 2, p. 89)
From these evidences, it is clear that Tahajjud prayer may be offered in congregation, and there is no Shar‘i restriction against it.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
❖ Question
Can Tahajjud prayer be performed in congregation or not?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
Tahajjud prayer may be performed in congregation, and there is no prohibition or disapproval in this. There are several authentic Ahadith proving this matter.
✦ Evidence from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
Narration of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
He said:
“I spent a night at the house of Maymūnah (رضي الله عنها), while the Prophet ﷺ was there, to observe how he prayed at night. The Prophet ﷺ talked with his wife for a while and then went to sleep. When the last third of the night came, he awoke, looked towards the sky, and recited the verse:
﴿إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ … لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ﴾
[Āl ʿImrān: 190]
Then he performed ablution, used the miswāk, and prayed eleven rakʿahs. I also made ablution and stood on his left side. The Prophet ﷺ took hold of my ear and placed me on his right side. Thus, he performed thirteen rakʿahs of night prayer.”
(Mirʿāt al-Mafātīḥ Sharḥ Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, Vol. 2, p. 162)
✦ Report in Muttaqī al-Akhbār
“It is authentically proven that Tahajjud was performed in congregation through the narrations of Ibn ʿAbbās and Anas (رضي الله عنهما).”
(Nayl al-Awṭār, Vol. 2, p. 89)
✦ Clarification of Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله)
He said:
“The Hadith of Anas (رضي الله عنه) is narrated in various wordings in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, among them: Anas said, ‘I and an orphan prayed behind the Prophet ﷺ in our house, while my mother, Umm Sulaym (رضي الله عنها), stood behind us.’
These narrations cited by the author clearly establish the permissibility of offering voluntary prayers in congregation. The opponents of this practice have no valid evidence to counter these narrations.”
(Nayl al-Awṭār, Vol. 2, p. 89)
✦ Conclusion
From these evidences, it is clear that Tahajjud prayer may be offered in congregation, and there is no Shar‘i restriction against it.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
